''In Advance of the Broken Arm'', also called ''Prelude to a Broken Arm'', is a 1915 sculpture by

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Pari ...

artist

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

that consisted of a regular

snow shovel A snow shovel is a specialized shovel designed for snow removal. Snow shovels come in several different designs, each of which is designed to move snow in a different way. Removing snow with a snow shovel has health and injury risks, but can also ...

with "from Marcel Duchamp 1915" painted on the handle. One explanation for the title is that without the shovel to remove snow, one might fall and break an arm. This type of humor is not atypical of

dadaist Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Paris ...

work. An antidote to what Duchamp called " retinal art", ''In Advance of the Broken Arm'' was the second of a series of sculptures that he named " ready-mades", the most famous of which is his 1917 ''

Fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

''. At the time, the term "ready-made" referred to manufactured goods as opposed to handmade goods, but Duchamp used the term to describe "an ordinary object elevated to the dignity of a work of art by the mere choice of an artist". The original was hung from a wire in the studio and has since been lost. A replica of the sculpture is on display at the

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ...

in New Haven, Connecticut.Marcel Duchamp, ''In Advance of the Broken Arm''
Yale University Art Gallery

References

External links

Museum of Modern Art, New York City, ''In Advance of the Broken Arm''
{{Marcel Duchamp Marcel Duchamp works 1915 sculptures Lost sculptures Modernist sculpture Collections of the Yale University Art Gallery Shovels